Two controversial abortion bills are headed to Gov. Rick Scott, and he is expected to sign them.
One bill, HB 1127, requires that women undergo ultrasounds before getting an abortion. The Florida Senate it passed it on a 24-15 vote Thursday. Former Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed a similar bill last year.
The Senate also passed another bill, HB 1247, on a 26-12 vote that makes it difficult for minors to get court waivers from Florida's parental notification law. One provision would require judges to consider a minor's maturity and also require a girl to go to a court in the circuit where she lives rather than in her appellate district, which is larger.
Some lawmakers were strongly opposed to having pregnant teenagers transported from one area of the state to another to get an abortion without their parents' knowledge.
"You can't give a child an aspirin in school without permission. You can't do any kind of medication, but we can secretly take the child off and have an abortion?" said Sen. Steve Oelrich, R-Gainesville. "We should support it with all our hearts and souls if parental responsibility means anything to us."
A difference in this year's ultrasound bill would allow women to opt out of hearing a description of the image as well as viewing it. They'd still be required to get the ultrasound. Last year's bill had an opt-out only for viewing the image.
Scott now has three abortion bills on his desk.
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On Wednesday, he got his first abortion bill, which would ban the use of public and insurance exchange money for abortions. Lawmakers earlier in the session approved a proposed state constitutional amendment (HJR 1179) banning public funding of abortions, which is already prohibited by law, to the November 2012 ballot.
Another provision in that amendment would exempt abortion from the Florida Constitution's strong privacy right.
"This is not what we were sent up here to do," said Detert,R-Venice. "We should not be legislating our religion or personal problems."
